In 1993 Ford launched a 2nd Tier Program to increase opportunities for minority businesses. Under this program, Ford works with large corporate suppliers to assist them in establishing SDD Programs similar to Ford's. This effort is designed to create more opportunities for minority owned businesses in the automotive industry. It is especially helpful for smaller minority businesses who do not have the capacity to supply Ford and other manufacturers directly. The 2nd Tier Program continues to expand each year and now generates over $12 billion in Ford supply chain of diverse purchases by our direct (1st Tier) suppliers. In addition, Ford has added women-owned suppliers in the scope of our 2nd Tier Program. 

Ford has launched a new, state of the art, diversity reporting system called M-Tier. The launch of M-Tier supports Ford's role as a leader in supplier diversity. The purpose of M-Tier is two-fold:

• Capture diverse spend at all levels of Ford's value chain
• Assist Ford suppliers in the initiation of their own Tier 2 reporting programs

The system was developed by Diversity Solutions and launched in 4Q 2004. Click here for additional information on M-Tier.